CU Green Labs Program

The CU Green Labs Program uses a team approach to minimize the use of energy, water, material goods and hazardous chemicals in CU Â鶹ӰԺ laboratories and promotes efficient, effective use of research equipment and laboratory space.

Contact CU Green LabsÌýÌýMeet Our TeamÌý

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Lab Best Practices

EnergyÌý| Water |ÌýWasteÌý| Solvent Re-Use

Learn what our labs do to be sustainable and efficient in every way.

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Lab Members

Become a Leader | 4 things lab members can do

Learn how to get more involved as a lab member.

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Shifts for Large Impact

Equipment Sharing & Efficient Space Use | Funding ConnectionsÌý|
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Social Justice

Discover climate and social injustices in labs and what actions are being taken to overcome these issues.

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Resources for Green Labs Community

Outreach materials, contests, metering dataÌýand other resources.

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Highlighted Lab Programs

Check out programs happening in a lab near you.

Freezer Program
Financial Incentives for Efficient Equipment
CU Green Labs Award Program
Green Chemistry Education
CU Green Labs in the News

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Efficient Labs Benefit Funding, Our Community and the Environment

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Labs are important for innovation but also are large resource consumers

CU Â鶹ӰԺ major research buildings use ~40% of campus building energy use while only occupying ~20% of campus square footage. Lab research often utilizes large amounts of water, chemicals, and single-use plastics.

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Cost avoidance, resources, and savings

  • Lab space optimization helps campus avoid unnecessary labspace construction.

  • Energy and water saving best practices by researchers reduces utility use.

  • Equipment sharing minimizes the purchase of duplicative instrumentation

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Metrics

2009-2025

ÌýÌý Electricity Savings: 16.25 GWh | $1.79 million at $0.11/kWh

ÌýÌý Water Savings:Ìý81 million gallons | $196,500 at $2.42/Kgal

ÌýÌý Lab Solid Waste Diversion: 625,000 lbs

ÌýÌý Solvents Reused: 3,690 gallons

ÌýÌý Shared Equipment: $3 million in avoided purchases

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CU Green Labs is known for its posters which share information onÌýsustainability in lab environments and best practices.

ÌýView Green Labs posters

Read our Vision and Mission StatementÌýÌýBenefits of CU Green LabsÌý

Jointly funded by Facilities Management and the Environmental Center since 2009

Green Labs Events